BTG and SIO Expand Immuno-Oncology / Interventional Oncology Grant Programme

LONDON, August 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

BTG plc (LSE: BTG), a global specialist healthcare company, and the Society of Interventional Oncology (SIO), an international organisation working to nurture and support interventional oncology worldwide, have expanded their commitment to the Immuno-Oncology / Interventional Oncology research grant programme, by announcing a second round of funding available to investigators.

Interventional oncology, which includes a range of minimally invasive, image guided, loco-regional therapies, and immuno-oncology, using the body's own immune system to treat cancer, are two areas of scientific interest that have great potential for improving cancer therapy. The SIO grant programme is designed to fund cutting-edge research initiatives to investigate the potential for these therapeutic approaches to work in combination. Specifically, the programme is looking to fund research proposals that:

• Evaluate immune stimulation of interventional oncologic therapies
• Combination approaches to improve clinical outcome
• Improve the understanding of underlying mechanisms as to how different loco-regional therapies influence both adaptive and innate immunity

Earlier this year, four investigators were awarded grants at the World Conference on Interventional Oncology (WCIO) in Boston to further their cutting-edge research in the field. Their project proposals ranged from exploratory pilot projects to prospective clinical trials. The winners were chosen by the SIO Immuno-Oncology / Interventional Oncology Committee, a panel of international experts which includes both interventional radiologists and immuno-oncologists.

With a large number of high quality submissions and the level of interest in the programme to date, BTG and SIO have announced their intention to expand the programme to ensure more collaborative research will be funded and accelerate the pace of scientific advancement in the combination of interventional oncology and immuno-oncology therapies.

"We are very pleased with the ongoing generosity of BTG that will continue to enable the SIO to fund additional meritorious, cutting-edge research that combines the strengths of interventional oncology and immuno-oncology - two disciplines that hold great promise for improving cancer therapy," said S. Nahum Goldberg, MD, SIO Interventional / Immuno-oncology Working Group Chair, and Vice-Chair for Research and Head of the Interventional Oncology Unit, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem, Israel.

Melanie Lee, Chief Scientific Officer of BTG, said: "We were delighted by the number of high calibre entries we saw from investigators in response to the original call for proposals, with lots of brilliant ideas of how to best combine loco-regional and immunotherapies. We believe such approaches can help new agents to penetrate solid tumour mass, expose tumour specific antigens, and help the immune system to mount a response. Given the high levels of interest, we have decided to double our efforts and provide further funding in 2018 to support additional research in this area."

To apply for a grant, completed applications need to be submitted online at www.io-central.org/grants by the 15th December 2017. The submission must include a detailed research plan that outlines a one to two year budget proposal and a letter of support from the department chair (for faculty applicants) or fellowship director (for trainee applicants). Grants of up to $50,000 are available for one year exploratory pilot projects and up to $100,000 for larger one to two year projects.

About Society of Interventional Oncology (SIO) 

SIO serves as the only membership-based organization dedicated wholly to the emerging field of Interventional Oncology (IO), working to establish, nurture, and support IO as the fourth pillar of cancer therapy alongside medical, surgical, and radiation oncology worldwide. IO therapies, such as embolization and tumor ablation, combine the expertise of oncology and radiology and use imaging technology to diagnose and treat localized cancers in ways that are precisely targeted and minimally or non-invasive. The society hosts the annual World Conference on Interventional Oncology (WCIO). For more information, please visit: www.sio-central.org.

About BTG Interventional Medicine 

BTG Interventional Medicine is part of BTG plc, a global specialist healthcare company. As medicine moves from major surgery to minor procedure, from the systemic to the local, no company endeavors to do more than BTG to help doctors in their quest to see more, reach further and treat smarter. Our growing portfolio of Interventional Medicine products is designed to advance the treatment of cancer, severe emphysema, severe blood clots, and varicose veins. To learn more about BTG Interventional Medicine, please visit: btg-im.com.

For further information contact: 

SIO 

Amanda Winger O'Kane, Marketing & Communications
+1-202-367-1164
aokane@sio-central.org

BTG plc

Chris Sampson, Corporate Communications Director
+44-20-7575-1595
Mobile: +44-7773-251-178